The Alley

It is unfortunate that I had only been going to this venue since last year. Last night (or early this morning) they put on their final show over a 2 night period with many local bands. The owner is selling the venue. My favorite touring show was last year when Jello Biafra and The Guantanamo School of Medicine performed.
«Parting is such sweet sorrow,»
Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2

My friends wanted to go for cheap beer last night, and I agreed to come back and check it out. I don’t think they card hot, young girls in this place. I also don’t think they notice when several girls are in the bathroom smoking something that isn’t tobacco and leaving the bathroom all powdery. Just not my scene, but I guess it’s somebody’s.

These guys are outright thieves.
They over charged my company card $ 70, thats $ 70 for three beers! Then called me a liar when I told them of the mistake. I don’t care if God himself returns on this very spot, I’ll never ever ever be back.
(UPDATE 4−21−16)
I heard these idiots went out of buisness, GOOD!
That’s what happens when you steal from your customers, word gets around that you are lowlife buisness owners and people go where the owners aren’t thieves…
HA’ FUXK YOU GUYS! (:D

I love this bar. Great local bar and music venue. Many of their shows are all ages with a separate 21+ area back by the bar. Great beer selection as well. If I lived in sparks, the Alley would be my neighborhood bar.

Great place to catch a live show or just chill and have a beer. The bartenders are chill and personable. Very friendly staff

The Alley used to be a fun place to hang out, and also used to host some awesome Punk & Ska bands. But now, they’ve gone the way of Lindsay Lohan’s career & are sinking down the toilet. Since last year, the drinks have more than tripled in price, one of the male bartenders is super rude and looks like he hates his life, and they only have no-​name rap or heavy metal bands. The overall atmosphere of this bar is depressing and low life. I kept going back, hoping it would get better, but nope. Now I would much rather go to the bar next door to them where the bar tenders are happy & they don’t charge an arm & a leg for drinks. The Alley was still fun during summer Victorian Ave events, but that’s because they have an outdoor drink tent with friendly service & you don’t have to go inside. If they start getting good bands back again, I might return. But otherwise, if I’m going to pay $ 8 — $ 10 a drink, I’d rather go to some swanky establishment where a skilled Mixologist is putting on a show of blending cocktails, instead of moping around behind the bar like a stoned & angry Eeyore.

Got a chance to check this place out last spring when my friend’s band was on tour and performed here. Definitely an awesome atmosphere — a typical old-​skool bar/​music venue that’s walking distance to John Ascuaga’s Nugget.
Big stage with large open area perfect for mosh pits. Great acoustics. The walls are littered with past show flyers, and apparently, many big names have performed here over the years.
The staff seemed friendly enough. Huge selection of beers and liquor.
One thing to make note of is that smoking is permitted inside, and the ventilation isn’t the best.

Best experience for a show in Reno. The owners are hilarious and great bartenders and the sound guy is by far the best sound guy in Reno.

The owner and bartenders are so rude at this bar. Watch your receipt they will add extra drinks on your receipt !!!

Love this place! Would be 5stars if the ladies room accommodated more than one toilet.

Went to this place to visit friends who were there for a death metal show. Arrived early, and the door troll let me into the bar with no fuss. After being there for over 2 hours, I went to the bar next door for a drink. When I tried to go back in, the troll told me I was obviously there with people from the show, and I could go around back and pay like everyone else. I hate death metal, for the record. I had a ticket, I was tipping 20%+ not unruly in ANY way. Fuck this place. There’s plenty of bars on Victorian square.

I love this club/​bar. They offer amazing bands that you can’t find anywhere else in Reno. Good drink prices. Excellent bartenders. Nestled right in victorian square close to the Nugget to stay over. Great ticket prices and for the most part the crowd is always friendly, and for the few that are not they are ejected quickly. Just to name a few awesome names they have showed: Devil Driver, Dwarves, Agent Orange

Worst place in town, scummy and indecent employees. If you like dirty shitty bars with rude service this is your place! Could not believe how unprofessional and rude the «owners» and «security» were, will not be back and will not recommend. What shame this place could be chill.

Cool venue.
My friends band was playing here so we made a night out of it. showed up when an opener was playing and it was pretty packed.
The bar is a nice size, the bartenders are quick and friendly.
The place has a 21+ bar area and the performance area is all ages. Kind of hard to get used to, I forgot I couldn’t cross a certain point a couple times, but the girl working was nice about it.
The sound was decent, the crowd was friendly, and there’s lots of various seating in the bar area, with a pool table.
The only drawback is the single-​person bathrooms… be prepared to wait in a line 8 deep for the ladies room!
I’m not from Nevada, so the indoor smoking is a negative, but can’t hate on that for state laws. A friend (who is a smoker) had to go outside for fresh air himself, only we found all the other smokers lighting up themselves on the patio. Kind of funny.

My favorite place for live music in Reno. I am amazed at the talent they bring in to this small venue. Drinks are average priced, sometimes the draft beer is warmer than I prefer. I stick to the PBR cans, cheap and always cold.

I used to agree with the rest… The Alley was the perfect place to go see a great punk rock show. My friend and I know a lot of musicians in the industry, especially in the punk scene, and we were stoked when we moved to Reno to find out that The Alley was the place to go for some of our favorite bands. We never name drop and rarely ask to be on guest lists, we hardly party (let alone go out), and we most definitely DON’T get into bar fights… so this night was a total bummer. Not only did some guy sucker-​punch my friend in the face that night which lead to stitches and the ER until 3AM, but the perpetrators were apparently buddies of security and/​or the owner and were allowed to stay and watch the show while we were kicked out! The jerks were later let go with no consequences after we waited for hours outside for some sort of justification from security. The worst part was that after I finally called the cops (when we realized the establishment wasn’t going to do anything about my friends busted face) the two of us voluntarily took breathalyzers to document that my friend had 0.0% alcohol in his system in order to disprove the statement given by security and the owner of The Alley that my friend was «drunk» and that «he swung at a girl» and that we «Instigated» the fight.
Um, I’m sorry, what fight? Oh, you mean how your buddies cheap-​shotted us and then left scott-​free? Yeah. We’ll never be going back there. And we’ll get the word out to friends about the unethical crap we endured on a night that we were out, like normal 30 year old adults, trying to have a good time.

Perfect punk rock bar.
The owner was supper nice.

Bartender Celeste Staggs (aka «Marilyn Maneater» in the Roller Derby, Pin-​Up and Burlesque scenes) invited me to her workplace, The Alley and made a specialty drink of her own just for the occasion! This drink is much sweeter than its title suggests. Smelling and tasting just like a vanilla-​orange Creamsicle (minus the essence of popsicle stick), I was quickly taken back to youthful summers spent running through sprinklers on the front lawn and chasing ice cream trucks down street for those sweet frozen treats.
Celeste’s Maneater $ 8
1 oz Three Olives Vanilla
1 oz Three Olives Rangtang
1oz Pineapple Juice
1oz Orange
Splash Cranberry Juice
Splash 7-​up
While visiting Celeste, I also met the new owner Chapin, who renovated and reopened the bar as The Alley in May of this year. The venue features live music most nights, DJ’s, comedy & regular guest bartender appearances. Chapin made me his favorite drink off the menu the Alley Sheedy. This $ 4 shot is named after The Breakfast Club actress, tastes like a grape Jolly Rancher and is definitely full of «VODKA!!»
TIP! Beat the Clock Mondays at The Alley: $ 2 drinks from 10pm-​12am

Went to The Alley on Saturday night [grand opening?] and had a great time. Extra bonus was music from The Saddletramps with opening act the Cowbellaros [sp?]. They rocked.
Pretty standard club fare so far as vibe. I think this was the former Vixens [never had the pleasure] and from the buzz, it sounds like some of the interior finishes were given an ample spit and polish. Plenty of places to stand and set a drink on a bar or take a seat and a banquette or sofa.
Good cross section of crowd; a range of ages, good ratio of guys to girls with a dose of pin up girl/​rocker/​roller derby sensibility. I look forward to going back especially with more good music in the line up.
PS Stock some Sailor Jerry’s!

I’ve seen this place, and the changes being made. This place is going to rule!!! Trust me!